


A Race Without a Finish Line

by Killerwhale



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Italy, M/M, Military, Motorcycles, Slow Build, Street Racing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-25
Updated: 2016-05-22
Packaged: 2018-05-28 21:58:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 13,043
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6347230
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Killerwhale/pseuds/Killerwhale
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Eren, a rookie in the world of motorcycle racing, is lost in the mountain roads of South Tyrol when he meets the oh-so mysterious Levi. An unexpected friendship develop.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Round One

**Author's Note:**

> Friendly warning: This fic is very self-indulgent, like  
> what's the main plot? ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯  
> will there ever be a climax? ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ (probably)
> 
> But if you want to join me on this aimless ride, I'd be very happy.  
> Kudos and comments are always appreciated.  
> I hope it's not utterly terrible.

Eren had never been so happy to see another person in his entire life. At least that’s what it felt like. He walked into the middle of the road and waved his arms over his head while yelling “Hey!” at the top of his lungs, hoping his voice reached over the loud noises coming from the bike approaching him. There was no way the motorcyclist couldn’t see him, yet they showed no sign of slowing down.

With his abnormal interest for bikes Eren could tell, even with the many meters, dust and visible heatwaves separating them that the driver was driving a ShiganMachine motorcycle, one of the older, more expensive models, but he couldn’t tell exactly which model it was. Only that it was black, more traditional style than Eren’s own white, Trost Motors bike.

As the meters between them closed in the driver still showed no sign of wanting to slow down to help. Only then did it hit Eren that he might not. The stranger could drive right by him and leave him there by the road to fend for himself.

And he did. He drove straight passed Eren. He didn’t even bother to look at Eren as he drove by, throwing a wave of strong wind dust into Eren’s face.

“Hey Asshole!” Eren turned around, threw his hands up, middle fingers standing up and stared daggers into the back of the other person. “Fuck you too!” It wasn’t like Eren was completely helpless where he stood. His own bike still worked perfectly, he wasn’t out of gas and he wasn’t hurt. He was just lost. So very lost surrounded by trees, fields and mountain tops on all sides.

Maybe’ Fuck You’ was the secret code to getting the stranger to stop, because he had suddenly slowed down. Only 20-30 meters ahead of Eren he slowed down just enough to put his foot on the ground and turn his bike around 180. The bike was more flexible that it looked. Eren’s own bikes could do the same move with ease, but his bikes were made to handle sharp turns like no other.

Eren swallowed hard as the black bike approached him slowly. The stranger hadn’t heard him, right? There was no way he could’ve heard the last sentence over the loud engine. The newcomer wore a brown leather jacket and ripped jeans, and a dark helmet. The sun shined straight at the both of them, reflecting in the face shield of the helmet, making it impossible for Eren to see the face of this other person. He really had no idea who had just told to fuck off.

Some… no. Most drivers don’t appreciate getting a “fuck you” thrown after them. Eren had many times heard the stories of people, even some of his closer friends, either getting a fist to their face or getting into arguments because small slips of the tongue. In all honesty, it wouldn’t be the first time someone had threatened to kick Eren’s ass because of it either, but he was quick enough to get away each time someone bigger than him raised their hand. Up until this point. This time he didn’t have the advantage of time enough to hop on his bike and take off in the opposite direction.

The mysterious driver came to a full stop in front of him, in the middle of the road. The loud sound of the engine died down to a small purring sound, one that Eren usually loved, but did nothing to calm him down this time.

Eren flinched as the other person pulled off his helmet and angry eyes shot a few tiny bullets at him. Cool, grey eyes stared him down for a good moment. He had heard him, hadn’t he? Eren was about to get murdered by a crazy motorbiking lunatic with insane road rage. He might as well write his will in the dust on the road and hope the wind would leave it there long enough for his friends to get the message ‘Delete my internet history and scour my house before you let my mom in.’

“Do you need help?” A deep voice dragged him out of his thought just before Eren could start fantasizing about the speeches that would be held at his funeral and the news article, talking about how tragic it was. ‘Up and coming racer found murdered’. The voice sounded more annoyed than angry.

“Yes.” Eren didn’t dare look away from the sharp eyes staring him down. Eren had always found some pride in his ability to navigate up and down the mountains surrounding his home city. After spending countless hours, nights and days driving on them when he was younger, with his friends, he thought he had concurred them all. All their sharp turns, the longer stretches, knew every house and farm along the road.

“I’m lost.” He had to admit, not without pain in his chest and the almost audible sound of his pride shredding a big piece off. The roads rarely carried more than a few drivers and the police only controlled them if they heard rumors of street races taking place, which made it the perfect place to ride around while trying to push limits in speed and movement.

“Sucks to be you.” The other man said and looked away from Eren and at the white bike standing behind him. The man had a young face, he couldn’t be much older than Eren was. His dark hair was slicked back and shaved on the sides and his accent was slightly different from Eren’s, probably from further south. “Where are you going?”

“I’m tryin’a get back to Bolzano.” Eren explained, finally relaxing more. It didn’t seem like the other man had any bad intentions. “Took the wrong turn somewhere.” Driving around in the mountains sometimes made Eren space out, he knew that and that was part of the reason he was out driving in the first place. It’s what he had wanted, but while he’d been spacing out he must have taken a wrong turn at a crossroad and ended up in a dale, stopped by another crossroad, trying to figure out which of the four alternatives would lead him home. Eren had no sense of direction and no one had bothered to put up road signs.

“I’m going to Bolzano. Try to keep up.” The stranger said and pushed his helmet back over his head. Eren nodded and went to pick up his own helmet, which he had kicked away out of frustration. He tried to ignore the bolt of offense he felt at the “try to keep up” comment. It sounded like a challenge in his ears. An urge to tell the stranger that he was in fact the best motorcyclist racer in the region, one of the best in the country, but he let it go.

He climbed onto his bike once again, turned on the engine, leaned forward and steadied himself. He nodded again at the other driver and they took off.

 

Bolzano had been closer than Eren thought. After only 30 minutes of navigating through the maze of roads and turns Eren saw nature he recognized. That one tree that looked like a ballerina and the set of three rocks that looked a little bit like a penis if you saw it from the right angle.

The heat was getting to him. He could feel sweat running down his face inside his helmet and was glad he hadn’t worn a jacket that day, against his mother wishes and felt bad for the other man, who wore a dark leather jacket. It must be unbearable. Eren had been without water for hours now, in the unusual summer heat. He could kill for a glass of ice cold water.

Eren tried to stay as close behind the black motorcycle as possible without causing any danger. He simply couldn’t stand the thought of him thinking Eren was a slow driver or didn’t know how to handle his own bike with 100% confidence. He was good, Eren had to admit. He handled his own bike with ease and at some turns, even Eren had trouble keeping up. Leaning from side to side, feeling the ground coming closer to his shoulder, and just as it looked like he was about to lose his balance and hit the ground, they pulled back up straight and continued. Nothing felt as good as this. The trees and rocks to his sides became blurs as he only focused ahead on the road and the back of the leather jacket and black helmet in front of him. The mountain roads consisted of a lot of sharp turns, which would be dangerous to venture with high speed if you don’t have a lot of experience.

Green surrounded them as they reached a higher peek and got a good view of the city beneath them. The sun shined down on the city and it looked like shadows and darkness could never come close to touching it. This view, Eren had seen it many times, his beloved city bathed in sunlight, wrapped in and protected by green fences, it was one of the reasons Eren never could hate his city.

Being in the middle of the day the roads were pretty much vacant, say for a few trucks and tourist busses headed either in or out of the city. The people living there would either be working or hiding inside in the shadow or under air-conditioning. It made Eren wonder what this man was doing out on his own, but then again, he had been out on his own as well. Eren had never been one to take naps to save energy from working in the sun and a sudden wave of energy came over him.

They reached the last stretch leading into the city, close enough now that the streets have sidewalks on both sides. Eren sped up till he drove side by side with the stranger and looked over at him with a big smile. He couldn’t be sure if the dark rider had seen it or not, considering the glass of his helmet was tinted, but it looked like he got the idea anyway. The other motorcyclist looked over at him and nodded sharply, and as soon as he did he drove off ahead of Eren again.

Now it was a challenge. A race without a set goal. Eren’s favorite.

The stranger pulled ahead, but Eren wouldn’t let him win easily. Correction; he wouldn’t let him win at all. How fast could Eren go without losing his license again? He wasn’t sure and threw the thought away as soon as it had appeared. Losing his license would be devastating to his career, but he didn’t care. Not right now. He was going to win…

He lost.

He’d pulled ahead of the stranger again and managed to stay ahead for barely a minute by cutting the stranger off smoothly every time he tried to pass him. That strategy worked well, until the stranger managed to pull his bike up on the sidewalk, out of Eren’s view and jumped out in front of him again. Eren was so stunned by the move he almost lost control, barely managing to regain it again. He was caught behind after that.

A race without a finish line can’t really be determined, but he still knew he’d lost when they both slowed down to a full stop at a gas station just outside the city. The other man knew it too, shown with an ever so small smile as he pulled off his helmet. Eren cursed to himself when he saw that the shop itself was closed. Luckily they could still fill gas, which they both needed.

Eren smiled as he did. The loss didn’t bother him as much as losing usually did. It was the most fun he had had in weeks. He’d forgotten all about the pressure and stress controlling his life and enjoyed the ride. And he wasn’t sure he was ready to let go of that peaceful feeling just yet.

The stranger was pulling off his jacket as Eren looked over at him. The man was shorter than him, but his muscles arms made up for it. His white t-shirt was clinging to his obviously well-built body. Eren didn’t even try to hide his stares.

“There’s a pretty nice café close to the church, down this road.” Eren said and pointed in the direction they had been driving only minutes ago. The man sent him a blank stare, so Eren added. “I’ll buy you a drink, if you’re not busy.”

More blank stares.

“As thanks, for saving me back there.” Eren tried to make it sound as casual as possible.

“Sure.” The man said after a short pause. “I’m not busy. I’d kill for cold water right now.”

Eren laughed and swiped his card to pay. “Me too.” Then he walked over to the shorter man and extended his arm. “I’m Eren.”

The man looked from Eren’s face and slowly down until he reached Eren’s hand, before grabbing it. His hand was rough and strong and he gave a firm handshake, the type of handshake you give during a job interview.

“I’m Levi.” 


	2. Round Two

Together they parked their motorcycles outside the cafe on the curb, next to a couple of the common, red 50cc scooters one could find at every street corner of the city. The café brightened up the street with green bushes outside and being one of the few buildings painted with white, while most of the others were lighter shades of yellow and brown.

Compared to the general population of the small café, Eren and Levi stood out quite a bit by being at least 30 years younger than the youngest couple there. Levi stood out even more because of his pale, fair skin. A larger crowd of elderlies had gathered there to escape the heat or just cool down in the air-conditioned building after their early afternoon walks. It doubled as a bar in the evenings and was far from authentic, but Eren liked the shop a lot. His mother had used to take him there when he was younger, after forcing him to go shopping with her. It brought back a lot of good memories.

Levi settled by a small, white table in the corner in the back, while Eren bought both them iced tea. He figured Levi looked like a tea-person, so he didn’t bother asking. It tasted just like tea, only cold. Levi didn’t complain when he sat their glasses down at the table. A semi-awkward silence filled the space between them while they both chugged down their drinks, both equally desperate to quench their thirst and cool down their bodies.

“This might be unnecessary advice,” Levi’s deep, now slightly hoarse voice broke the silence, “but next time you’re stranded and trying to get help, yelling fuck you and flipping someone off isn’t the best way.” Eren looked up with wide eyes. So Levi had heard him after all? He tried to judge Levi’s expression, but it was unreadable. Levi showed little to no facial expression what so ever, just emotionlessly stared back at Eren with sharp eyes. Eren did not want to ever play poker with this man.

“You heard?” Eren asked.

“You have a loud voice.” Levi looked away and out the window, out on the light cobblestone road. He had taken off his jacket, strays of his hair was falling down into his eyes, but it didn’t seem to bother him as much as it bothered Eren. He wanted to lean over the table and brush the strays away. On second thoughts, he was sure his own hair didn’t look much better. Wearing helmets for hours did that to you.

“It worked though, didn’t it?” Eren smiled brightly, almost proud. Yes, yelling at someone was never the best way to get on their good side, but it had made Levi stop. If he hadn’t he might be driving around the mountains still.

“I was going to beat you senseless and leave you by the road to die.” Levi’s voice was flat, there was no tone to indicate that he was joking, but Eren still laughed. Even if that was true, Eren would not have gone down without a fight.

“What made you change your mind then?” He asked, still smiling like it was all a big joke to him. Levi didn’t answer right away. He looked back at Eren again, a small smile creeping across his face.

“Pity.” He replied, hiding unsaid words behind that one simple word. Eren wasn’t always the first or the best at picking up when people were lying, but this time it was obvious to even him that Levi wasn’t telling the whole truth. He’d known Levi’s name for… what? 15 minutes? But even with only 15 minutes he felt like there was some sort of connection, or a mutual understanding between them.

“I’ll take it.” Eren said. What kind of cheesy rom-com did he think this was? There was no such thing between them, he had to tell himself. He was simply attracted to the short man and maybe he was a little bit desperate for company. “Thanks for not killing me.”

And maybe this stranger liked his company as well. Eren could only speak for himself, but as he stood up to get them refills it felt like they both wanted nothing more than to sit there and enjoy cold drinks. It could very well be wishful thinking, but something about the way Levi had spoken and the way he leaned comfortably back in his chair told Eren that he didn’t wish to move any time soon.

Eren knew nothing about this guy, but something about him made Eren relax. It was nice, finally feeling like he could unwind, when he’ done nothing but feel nervous and stress about past and upcoming races. Rapidly approaching races he had to win.

But right now, today, it didn’t matter. He’d been racing down the street with a complete stranger and he’d lost and it didn’t matter.

“Your bike is a Shiganmachine, right?” Eren asked, mostly to start a conversation, but also hoping Levi would share some stories about it. He already knew Levi’s motorcycle was a SM. He had one of his own. His very first bike had been a SM sports model, which he still kept stored in his garage. Unfortunately the bike had taken its last trip 5 year prior, ending in a nasty crash, gifting Eren with a broken arm, couple of broken ribs and a very angry mother.

“Yeah, W850.”

“She’s beautiful.” It slipped passed Eren’s lips before he could think it over. Calling a motorcycle beautiful was such a weird thing to do. It made it sound like he had some weird vehicle fetish. Undoubtedly there would be a name for it. Mechanophilia, was it? But Eren’s love for vehicles was strictly platonic.

“She?” Levi raised an eyebrow at him. “Don’t tell me you’re one of those people?”

“What do you mean ‘those people’?” Eren said defensively.

“Call their cars ‘she’ and give them names.” Levi made a vague hand gesture. Eren was indeed one of ‘those people’. Counting his racing bikes, he’d owned a total of 6 bikes throughout his 23 years and every single one of them had a name. Not all female names, mind you, but they had names. His stance on the matter must have been obvious because Levi rolled his eyes before Eren could defend himself.

“Seriously? It’s just a bike.”

“They’re not just bikes.” Eren gasped before he could stop himself, figured he might as well continue. Now that he’d been exposed as a fanatic, he would go down defending himself. “They have souls.”

“Are you for real?” Levi kept a steady hand on the glass in front of him and crossed his legs.

“Yeah, dude. They’ve been on adventures, seen the world, sometimes they break down or fall over, but they can be fixed and they get back up-“ Eren cut himself off, feeling his face heating up when he realized what he was saying. Levi had a point, they were just bikes, but at the same time, to Eren, they meant a lot more. A motorcycle wasn’t just a means of transportation to him.

“Get your head out of your ass.” Levi said with a tiny smile of amusement.

“Are you saying you don’t care about yours at all?” Eren asked.

“Only in a materialistic sense. I don’t get emotionally attached.” Eren had to forcibly stop himself from reading too much into the statement. Surely, they were only talking about bikes, but he couldn’t help but wonder if ‘not getting emotionally attached’ ruled other aspects of Levi’s life as well.

“And that’s supposed to be any better?” Eren snorted.

The conversation kept rolling, soon turning to other topics, but never anything too personal. An hour later Eren still knew nothing about Levi as a person. Not what he did for a living, where he was from and why he was visiting Bolzano. Somehow they managed to stay clear of too personal subjects. They talked about the weather, the city, subjects that required little depth. They talked about the people walking past the window of the café, judging them in whispers. A girl with a weird hat, a young man with a douchebag shirt and a woman who could barely walk on her too tall heels. Eren laughed at Levi’s comments on the oblivious strangers, and Levi occasionally snorted when Eren pointed out peculiarities.

“She walks like her husband finally convinced her to try anal last night.” Eren said with squinted eyes not to be blended by the sun outside, watching an older woman walk by. He leaned over the table so he could whisper, not wanting the other costumers to hear their conversation. Levi almost spit out his drink and turned his head to look at the woman.

Eren gave himself another point. Levi didn’t show much expression, that much Eren had learned in the one hour they had known each other, so every time he made Levi smile or laugh he considered it a small victory and gave himself a pat on the back.

“You’re right, she does.” Levi said. “Just look at her expression. Dude probably just shoved it right up there. That’s a pending divorce right there.”

“We’re awful people.” Eren laughed out loud. He watched with a guilty grin as the woman awkwardly stumbled by, with a stern expression plastered on her face, till he could no longer see her from where he sat. When he turned his head back to Levi their eyes met and locked, almost like Levi had been watching him curiously the whole time. Their faces were mere centimeters apart and Eren felt himself blush at the sudden, close proximity. He leaned back instinctively. “What?”

A small smile flashed across Levi’s face again, before he leaned back as well.  

“Nothing.” Levi drank the rest of his iced tea like it was a shot of tequila, even throwing in a grimace as he swallowed it. “I should get going.” He stood up from his seat, grabbing his jacket.

Eren couldn’t help but feel a sting of disappointment, but tried to play it off. “Yeah, I guess I should too.”

They left their glasses at the table and walked outside, back into the burning sun. Levi allowed Eren all of 5 minutes to inspect his bike, ask questions about it and name it in secret. The bike was almost shining, perfectly clean, there was not a single noticeable scratch on it. Had it not been for the worn tires it could’ve been mistaken for being brand new, but that would’ve been impossible. SM stopped selling that model 4 years ago. By the time the silent name ceremony was over and he’d looked the bike over he was already sweating again.

When Eren was safely seated on his own bike and watched Levi drive away through the face shield of his helmet, did he realize Levi might not have been completely honest about not caring about his bike. No one who only cared for their bike in a materialistic sense would take such good care of it. Levi had just told him he’d owned the bike for almost 7 years and it didn’t have a single scratch.

They hadn’t exchanged phone numbers or even full names. Eren still knew nothing about Levi. Not even his age. They might have driven off in separate directions, but Levi didn’t leave Eren’s mind quite as easily. Only when he got home and entered his house did he regret not having asked more questions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Srsly, i feel like something's missing, so feedback would be very helpful, heh.


	3. Round Three

“I envy you,” Jean said, “You got it all figured out, don’t you?” His tone sounded angry, annoyed even. They were sitting on the couch in Jean’s apartment. Jean, Eren and Connie each had a beer placed in front of them, Connie and Jean were playing Need For Speed. “You’re doing what you love, getting paid for it, moving to Milan soon.” Eren grew more agitated with every word spilling from Jean’s mouth.

“Just stop talking please and concentrate on the game.” Eren snarled back at him. Jean was wrong, he had nothing figured out. Sometimes he still felt like a teenager who just happened to like extreme sports, just rolling with the stream.

“Seriously, the only thing missing is a girlfriend.” Jean did not know how or when to shut up. “Or, I guess, boyfriend in your case.” The three of them knew each other from school. Jean and Connie were a few of the friends Eren still had in the city, while most of his friends had left to explore a bigger world. Not that Bolzano didn’t have some size to it, but it wasn’t exactly Rome.

His sister had moved to Bologna to study and the year prior his best friend had moved to Milan. Eren would be moving there too, to Milan, it would be the best place for him to live to continue his career in racing. He’d miss the mountains and his parents, but after thinking about it for some time, he had concluded it was the right thing to do, and with his new sponsorship deal, he could afford it.

Milan is not too far away from Bolzano, so he could visit often. It’s only a three hour drive, so he could drive up to visit friends and family on weekends if he wanted to, rather than having to drive down there to practice and meet with his team and sponsors.

“You’re so lucky, dude.” Slipped out of Jean’s mouth. Those words were the final straw for Eren. He grew irrationally agitated the more praise he got. He didn’t deserve it. And maybe Jean didn’t deserve getting smacked in the head with a throw pillow, but Eren still flung the pillow in his face with full force. Jean lost control over his car and it went off the road, rolling down a steep hill and his side of the screen faded black.

“What the hell, Eren!” Jean yelled. He lost his first place to Connie and fell back to 4th, behind the NPC  cars. Connie laughed as he crossed the finish line, quietly thanking Eren for the less than deserved victory.

Jean threw the pillow back at him, making him laugh. He shouldn’t get mad at his friend. Jean didn’t, couldn’t understand the pressure that came with the decisions Eren was making. His future in the racing world very much depended on how he placed in his first Grand Prix. His very first MotoGP weekend would take place in Spain in less than a month and Eren needed to take it seriously.

If he didn’t perform well he could lose sponsors and endorsement deals. His contract with Recon Corp, his main sponsors, was only for a year. If he couldn’t place well in the races he could lose them as sponsors and he’d be out of the race, both literally and figuratively. No one would expect a rookie like him to place first, but Eren still wanted to win. He had no backup plan. Fuck having a plan B. It was his way or the high way. Go big or go home.

Connie picked up on the growing tension between his two friends and got up from the worn couch. He got them both more beers and changed to topic of conversation. Keeping Eren and Jean from going at each other had used to be Mikasa’s job, Eren’s sister, but since she’d moved the job fell upon whoever dared go between them. Connie version was more subtle, but worked most of the time.

After high school Jean got a job at his mother’s bakery, still conflicted of what he wanted to do with his life and shared an apartment with a random guy he’d met online, who Eren had never met and was starting to doubt the existence of. It wasn’t a secret to anyone that Jean had wanted to move to Bologna after Eren’s sister. Jean had been in love with Mikasa for as long as Eren had known him. The only person oblivious to Jean’s feelings had been Mikasa herself.

Connie had moved away from Bolzano for a year after high school, joining the military and going through the first year of training in Rome, but was moved back to South Tyrol to get special training and becoming a part of the Alpini, which consequently meant he moved close to Bolzano and could visit any weekend he had time off. Because of the army the shorter friend had been forced to shave his head and was sporting a buzz cut, which in Eren’s opinion suited him better than the pop-punk hairstyle he had all through high school.

The night ended peacefully and they all said their goodbyes around 2 at night. Connie went further into the city towards his girlfriend’s apartment and Eren walked in the opposite direction, away from the center. If his calculations were correct it would take him 40 minutes to walk home. Even hours after the sun had gone down, resting behind the mountains, the heat lingered in the air. It was an unusual hot summer, allowing Eren to walk outside so late without a jacket. The air was still cool and felt fresh enough to sober him up to a blissful state and letting him walk straight.

Bolzano was a peaceful city and he had no worries in walking home alone, away from the city street and up a smaller hill to a collection of medium sized brick houses. The road was lit up by the street lights, few cars drove by and the only people he ran into were less sober than he was. After ten minutes of walking he’d left most of the noise behind, but for the bickering of a few dysfunctional lamp posts.

Distant at first, but a familiar sound rudely interrupted his evening peace. Eren looked over his shoulder to see a dark motorcycle driving in his direction. SM W850. He knew that bike. It had been four days since his first encounter with Levi, and the man had never really left Eren’s mind. Popping into his head now and again, Eren was still curious to know more about him, but hadn’t thought he’d ever get the chance to talk to him again.

He stopped at the sidewalk and waved his hands in the air, but just like last time Levi did not slow down.

“Hey, Asshole!” Eren yelled, replaying the scene from earlier that week, middle fingers in the air, as Levi passed him by. And just like last time, Levi’s bike got a good 20 meters away from him before it slowed down, the man put one foot on the ground and turned his bike around slowly on the empty road.

Levi drove up to him and lifted the face shield up. He was wearing the same jacket and dark jeans. Nobody else was out driving at 2 in the morning, nobody but this dark, mysterious motorcycle rider. What a cliché movie character he was, Eren thought to himself and smiled. The loud noise died down to low humming.

“I thought we talked about this.” Levi leaned over the handlebar, looking Eren up and down. Only a square part of his face showed and he looked less than amused, but Eren figured it might just be his version of a resting bitchface.

 “It’s the only way to get you to stop.” Eren pointed out with a shrug, like it was the obvious conclusion to a finally resolved mystery. Eren smiled a little bit about confirming his theory. Again, it had worked.

“Did you need something?” The purring from Levi’s bike filled the delicate air.

“You in a hurry or somethin’?” Eren deflected his question, suddenly unsure of why he’d waved Levi down or what he was expecting from this conversation.

 “Not really.” Levi said, sighing. “Where are you going?”

“Home, was the plan.”

“Do you need a ride?” Levi cocked his head to the side, showing the empty place behind him on the still impeccable bike. Eren nodded before thinking twice about it, glad he didn’t have to walk up the hall after all, not that he couldn’t. Strong legs and good balance is necessary to drive fast and well, but now that a better option had presented itself, walking seemed less tempting.

“Yes, please. You’re my knight in shining armor.” Eren joked and walked up to the bike, noting that Levi’s armor, or rather his helmet really was shining. It reflected the light from the street lamps.

Levi shook his head and let a short huff of laughter escaped his lips. “Just get on.” As Eren got on behind him, Levi removed his helmet and held it over his shoulder for Eren to take. Eren stared at it for a good ten seconds before taking it.

“Shouldn’t you wear this?” He asked as he stared down at the helmet and then up at Levi’s back, neck and undercut.

“Wear it or walk.” Eren was already comfortable seated on the bike and had no intentions of getting off until he was all the way up the hill, so he put the helmet on without further questions. Levi looked at him from over his shoulder and gave him a small smile. His hair looked almost exactly like it had before. Slicked back, without look greasy.

“And hold onto me.” Levi added with a steady voice, looking ahead again. “Makes it easier to balance.”

Eren smirked knowingly, slowly wrapping his arms around Levi’s waist, feeling the muscles underneath the leather jacket tighten. He deemed himself lucky they had never gotten into a fight, he knew now that he would lose by a mile to the shorter man. He also knew Levi had just lied to him.

Before they moved away, giving Mikasa or Armin rides on his bike was a common occurrence, so he knew all too well that having someone cling to your body never made it easier to drive, especially not on a bike like Levi’s where holding onto the seat was an option.

But he didn’t question it out loud. He slid closer. Closer than necessary, the drunken haze allowing him to do so without shame, pressed himself up to the man and held tight around his torso. He could smell leather and soap. He smelled clean, as opposite to Eren, who was sure he smelled like alcohol.

“This alright?” Eren asked, ever so cautiously.

“Where to?” Levi asked back. Eren took it as a yes.


	4. Round Four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope it's not terrible ^u^

40 minutes was reduced to 10. 10 soul refreshing minutes driving up the small hill. Eren was rarely graced with the joy of sitting behind someone driving, but it wasn’t very pleasurable at all in his opinion. It was uncomfortable, frustrating even, letting someone else steer the ship and he felt tense. The air turned cold against his skin and for the first time in weeks he could say he was actually freezing, the hair on his arms stood up, and he loved every minute of it.

The road slimmed down and got more cracks in it the higher up they drove. When his house came into view he dared lift his arm off Levi and point in its direction. He tried to speak, but knew his words were nothing more than muffled sounds. Levi followed his direction, slowing down and parking in front of the small house.

Eren let got and lifted the helmet off, putting it on top of Levi’s head, pushing it halfway down with a small laugh. He expected Levi to stop him, but Levi let him have his fun for a moment before he took the helmet off again and put it between his legs. Eren climbed off slowly and stood next to the bike with a sly grin.

“You really are drunk.” Levi said. “You reek of beer.” There was no resentment in his tone, but Eren still felt like he needed to pull himself together, stand straight, and possibly take a shower very soon. He laughed it off and waved the thoughts away. He briefly wondered whether or not it was appropriate to invite Levi in. He had just driven Eren home, but Eren was drunk and it was late already. There were little to no streetlights on his street, most of the light came from the moon and light from the neighboring house’s windows. Thinking Levi would want to come inside was most likely more presumptuous than anything else.

So instead he asked, “What were you doing driving around so late?” It would be cool if they could become friends. He found Levi’s company weirdly relaxing still. If nothing else he’d like for them to become friends, even if just for a short while before he moved. Maybe just to satisfy his own curiosity.

“What were you doing walking around so late?” Again with deflecting personal questions. They say curiosity killed the cat, but the taller of the two had always believed curiosity could do more things that just kill cats.

“I was just walking home after hanging out with a couple of friends.” Eren answered honestly, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. The fresh air helped sober him up a second time.

“Same here.” Levi said, leaning on the helmet. He didn’t make any moves indicating that he wanted to get out of there as soon as possible.

“So you live around here?”

“Closer to the city than this farmland.” Levi looked around, making Eren do the same. It was nothing new to him, eyeing mostly farmland and trees surrounding the street. They could still see the city below them. Now that the darkness had overtaken it and most of what they could see were rooftops and open spaces for the markets, it looked like a city taken straight out of the Assassin’s Creed games. They could see hints of the Adige River running through the city, splitting the whole of Bolzano in two. The sky above them was dark, and with little light around them they could see the stars over the city clearly. It was certainly a sight to put on a postcard, but a picture could never capture the full beauty of it.

“Sorry,” Eren blurted out. “This must’ve been out of your way.” He wanted to feel guilty about it, but couldn’t bring himself to do so. He was happy he had run into Levi, mostly to have escaped the tedious climb.

“You should probably head inside before your parents start to worry.” Levi said. Eren shook his head violently at the assumption. No, the house behind him was empty and had no one waiting for him inside.

“I live alone.” Eren looked over his shoulder at the small house he so cheaply rented. It was small, only one floor if you don’t count the basement. It looked somewhat bigger than it was, having a large garage. One bedroom, kitchen, living room bathroom and a tiny guestroom, which Mikasa used anytime she came to visit. It was painted beige, the door and window frames in a slightly darker beige.

“It’s getting late anyway, I should get going. “Levi moved to lift the helmet. “And you should get some sleep.”

“Hey,” Eren said louder than intended, receiving a frown from Levi for interrupting the motion. “I want a rematch.”

“A rematch” Levi questioned, setting his helmet down again.

“Yes!” Eren said as determined as he could. “Driving on the sidewalk is cheating.” Something that separates real races from street races is that street races usually don’t have many rules. Who would you complain to if anyone broke them? The judge? Italian Motorcycle Racing Association? Call the cops? But they had unofficial rules. Rules made by and for the participants. Eren didn’t have enough experience street racing to know what those rules usually were, but he figured driving on the sidewalk should be against the rules.

Levi seemed to catch on to Eren’s trail of thought slowly and his frown sunk deeper. “You’ve been drinking.” He pointed out. They both stared at each other a moment while Eren realized that he indeed was not in the right mind to drive, and Levi giving him the silence to do so, before he added “and it’s 2:30 in the morning.”

2:30? Had they really been standing there for 20 minutes already? Eren found his phone in his pocket and checked the time. 2:34

“Give me your phone.” Levi stretched out his hand, demanding Eren’s phone. Eren questioned him with a simple, confused look. “I’ll give you my number, dumbass.” Levi explained. “If you want me to drag your ass by the asphalt again.”

Eren handed over his phone happily, throwing in a “I won’t lose this time,” as he did so, and he got Levi’s phone in return. This was progress, Eren thought. Now he wouldn’t have to worry about whether or not he’d run into Levi again. He got his phone back and scrolled through his contacts until he reached the new addition and found the name Levi Ackerman.

“Levi Ackerman?” He tried, mostly to hear how it sounded out loud. Levi looked curiously at him for a moment.

“Eren No Last Name.”

“It’s Eren Jaeger. Adding last names is so old school.”

“Well, I’m changing your name to Little Shit, so you don’t have to worry about that.” Levi kept his eyes at his phone and tapped away like he was really changing Eren’s name. Offended, Eren figured it was only right if he did the same.

“Fine, then I’m changing yours to Levino.”

“Is that supposed to be a joke?” Levi’s voice was serious. When Eren looked up again he was met with scowling look. If he had thought Levi looked mad previously, if was nothing compared to what was holding onto him now. And it should most certainly not have felt as intriguing as it did.

Eren didn’t say anything, just smiled innocently and observed as the angry wrinkles softened out again slowly and Levi let out a deep sigh. “Whatever…” Levi promised he’d call sometime next week, explaining briefly he’d be busy over the weekend and drove off again. Eren watched as he drove away before he backed up into his empty house.

The silence was ringing in his ears as he sat down in the living room and smiled softly to himself. He wasn’t tired enough to sleep, so he turned on the TV and watched old reruns of one of the soap operas his mother had used to watch. Right before he fell asleep he remembered he had forgotten to thank Levi, so he wrote him a quick text, expecting Levi would get it when he woke up.

 

Eren spent the next couple of days with his family. His mother, Carla Jaeger, constantly asking for his company like it had suddenly dawned upon her that her son would move from South Tyrol soon, and she could no longer demand his presence whenever she wanted it. She was supportive and encouraging, but still sulked more about the move than she had when Eren told her he wanted to get his own house a years ago. She looked more upset now than she had been when Mikasa moved out. Eren could do nothing but frequently remind her that it was still months away and he didn’t even have an apartment yet. Mr. Jaeger seemed to take it all with more ease. He was a highly respected doctor, who traveled between Italy and Germany on a regular basis to perform high-risk surgeries and to give lectures. He was used to being away from his family for weeks at the time.

Wednesday morning Eren found himself at Jean’s mother’s bakery, sharing a chocolate croissant with a uniformed Connie and finding entertainment in watching Jean work. The shop had just opened and was already swamped with customers wanting to buy fresh bread and baguettes before the sun reached over the mountain tops. The small space was filled with people talking and the smell of freshly baked bread.

Eren and Connie threw crumbs at Jean as he was cleaning the tables when Eren’s phone vibrated in his pocket. He couldn’t hold back a wide smile when he saw that Levi had finally contacted him after 4 days of radio silence. The text asked if he was free that afternoon, to which he quickly replied that he was.

“What’s up?” Jean walked over to them and hit Connie lightly for throwing crumbs, leaving Eren without punishment for his assessment. Both friends looked at Eren.

“Nothing. Just a text.” He wasn’t sure why he suddenly felt the need to hide it.

“Look at his cheeks turn red.” Connie teased. “Who’s it from?”

“Some guy named Levi.” Eren tried to force a neutral expression. He didn’t want his noisy friends to hastily assume it was something it wasn’t.

“Levi who?” Jean pulled up a chir and sat down, abandoning his mother to take care of the counter all by herself. “Anyone we know”? He asked, either ignoring or completely oblivious to the death glares his mother sent towards their table. Connie shrunk down with a smile under the angry eyes watching over them.

“Levi Ackerman. I just met-“

“Levi Ackerman?” Connie interrupted and sat back up straight with big eyes. He leaned forward over the table and tried to get a glimpse at Eren’s phone.

“That’s what I said, yes.” Eren said, locking his phone screen so they couldn’t see. “Do you know him?”

“You mean, Captain Levi Ackerman?” Connie asked again, louder this time, drawing the attention from several of the customers close to them.

“Captain?” Eren was confused and looked between his two friends, happy to find Jean sharing his confused expression.

“Short guy, black hair, angry as fuck…” Connie tried his best to explain and Eren couldn’t say it was far off the Levi he knew.

“You know him?”

“He’s captain in the military, you bread loaf.” Connie motioned to the green uniform he was wearing. “I don’t really know him. I’ve just heard the rumors and seen him a couple of times around-“

“What rumors?” Eren shot it. Levi was captain in the military? Connie had tried to explain the ranks to him once before, but Eren could hardly remember all the titles, not the order. He tried to picture Levi wearing the same green uniform Connie was. Being a solider was not something he could’ve guessed as Levi’s occupation, but then again, he really didn’t know a lot about him yet.

“Wait, how do you know him?” Connie asked. Jean didn’t say anything, but looked at his friends like a confused, lost puppy.

“I just met him the other day. I don’t know him well.” Eren said. “What rumors?”

“Well, it’s just rumors. He transferred last week to execute some mountain exercise I think. I’m not sure, it’s not my department, but he’s apparently famous among the sergeants.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know the details. I heard this from a sergeant with a loud mouth, so take it with a grain of salt, ok?” Eren nodded like he would, knowing fully well he wouldn’t. Connie went on. “Italy sent a couple of troops to Afghanistan to assist the Americans. They were on a rescue mission, or was it peace keeping… whatever.” Connie stopped to breathe and get his thoughts back on track.

“You’ve both seen Black Hawk Down, right?” He asked. Both Jean and Eren nodded simultaneously. Of course they had seen it. They had all watched the movie together years ago. “It was like that. They were on a mission, something went wrong and they got stuck in a building, surrounded, low on ammo and the rescue team couldn’t get to them without blowing up the whole place.

“They say they managed to hold the building for almost 6 hours till nighttime, then Captain Ackerman gathered what they had left of ammunition, found a backway out and took out more than 20 people alone, clearing the way for the other solders to escape. Any other team would’ve been completely obliterated, but not a single man on his team lost his life.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so I tried to make a joke with Levi’s name, but I don’t know Italian so I’m not 100% sure I did it right???


	5. Round Five: The Rematch

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this chapter is so long.

Not quite stunned, but in disbelief Eren left the bakery with Connie after they had finished the croissant and Jean's mother had successfully sent enough angry glares to get Jean's attention. Connie's green uniform drew some to attention to them, mostly the eyes of tourist's. The natives were used to seeing soldier, being as close to Alpini's base as they were. The sun had risen above the mountain tops and proved them the weather would not deviate from previous days.

Eren's curiosity was still not satisfied, he kept asking Connie and dug for more information on Levi, but Connie had little more to share. Eren agreed to give Connie a ride to the Commando Center, with a touch of hope he'd run into the short man there, but knew his chances were slim. The commando center was far from being the only military establishment in that area of the city. Besides, he had already texted with Levi and they had agreed to meet later that day at the gas station outside of town where they had first introduced themselves, so who was to say if Levi was at any base at all.

Connie held onto the bike and they drove slowly down the road. They drove passed colorful buildings and trees, old and young walking down the sidewalks, met a few scooters and cars on the way there. Some of the youngsters on the 50CC scooters attempted to either wave or nod at them, similar to how bus drivers greet one another when they meet on the road. Eren would sometimes nod back, or he could feel Connie let go with one hand and wave.

Eren didn't find himself above the interaction. He remembered when he got his first motorbike and would wave at every single bike he saw, no matter if it was a scooter, moped or an old school Harley Davidson with a rider who looked like he could be associated with a motorcycle gang. The "hey, we're the same kind," recognition. He used to get so mad when they didn't acknowledge him back. In his mind they were all friends, in the same family or gang if you will. Even if the broad shouldered, bearded men rarely waved back at him.

They reached the large gated military building with the Italian and UN flag hanging up front, above the gates. Most of the building was fenced in and Eren wouldn't be allowed to enter the premises, so he drove up to the curb to let Connie off there. Eren glared at the gates for keeping him out.

Connie got off and muttered a "thanks for the ride" and "see you later." They bumped fists and Connie walked away from him, towards a sidedoor Eren had not previously noticed. Eren let himself stand there a minute extra and spied around the building for other soldiers, but could see no Levi. As much as he'd like to see Levi wearing the uniform, he had to admit defeat and drove off.

He headed home first with a few hours to kill, he changed to jeans, grabbed a thicker jacket, roughly cleaned his bike, ignored a phone call from his mother and one from his manager, knowing he'd only remind Eren of his practice hours later that week.

 

Eren drove in to the gas station 5 minutes past 1 to find Levi was already there waiting for him. He was standing to the side, leaning against his dark bike, watching as Eren drove up to one of the gas pumps. He looked intense. The way he was standing, and his serious expression made it easy for Eren to picture him as a soldier. Arms crossed, straight back.

Something about the situation felt normal, but special at the same time. Eren was filled with anticipation and adrenaline was already spreading through his body. He greeted Levi with a simple wave before filling up his motorcycle with gas. Once he was sure he had enough to survive a couple of hours lost in the mountains, he rolled his bike over to where Levi was standing.

"Ready to get your ass handed to you, again?" Levi asked him, not moving as Eren got close.

"I just hope you're not a sore loser cause I won't go easy on you this time." Eren replied, successfully earning a snort from Levi. Eren puffed out his chest and tried to look as serious as he could to intimidate his opponent, but Levi didn't look fazed.

"Where are we driving?" Levi asked and Eren's serious face fell. He hadn't thought of that, so now he had to think. They would have to drive somewhere with the least possibility for cops and an area with little traffic, which without a doubt would be the slim mountain roads, but there they would never reach much speed because of the angeled turns. The highway out of Bolzano would have too much traffic.

"Are you familiar with the area?" Eren asked. Levi shook his head 'no'. Connie had mentioned Levi had just recently been transfered there, so he wouldn't have had the same amount of time to scour the roads and learn the regions secrets, as Eren had, having lived there his entire life. Eren realized he had a valuable opportunity to show him this.

"We should get outside the city limits, so we don't get caught." Eren stated the obvious, and Levi nodded. They agreed to get further away from the city before they decided the rest. Eren already had a route in mind.

They followed the long stretched road out of the city, where their first race had taken place. Driving up the road now made Eren even more eager to race, to win this time, bitter about the last outcome.

15 minutes outside of the city they came to a crossroad, figured they were far enough from the city now to break the speed limits, they agreed on a simple route Eren suggested. They would take left, drive up a mountain road with sharp turns which would eventually lead them to a small village with a long stretch. The finish line would be a sign to the lake close to the village. It was simple, no chance of getting lost, little traffic. If driven with normal speed the trip would take about 20 minutes. If Levi was a fast this time as he had been, they'd need no more than 10.

With no one to count down the seconds for them, Eren let Levi take off first, certain he would be able to catch up quickly enough. Levi took left, and Eren let him get a couple of second head start, watching the bike pick up speed and leaving dust flowing behind it. At the first sharp turn they were already neck in neck again, but Eren couldn't surpass him at the turns. He would have to rely on speed to pass him on the short, straight lines in between the apex. They were halfway up the hill when he finally managed to do so, not surprisingly. Eren's bike was made for speed and he was 99% sure Levi must have modified his own bike, as his was not, but still didn't have any trouble keeping up with Eren's.

It was a one way road, not hard to figure out. They met no other cars while driving up, but were only surrounded by pure nature and would occasionally spot a house or two oddly placed by the road. They passed each other a couple more times before they reached the top of the hill and set out of the last stretch, through the village and to a wooded area. Eren might not have been smiling under his helmet, but he enjoyed every minute of it. He was determined to win this time. He wouldn't be able to look his manager in the eyes if he lost a second time, let alone look at Levi. Racing was his goddamn job. Winning a race against an amateur shouldn't be this hard.

On the last stretch they met more cars, passed a few, ignoring the angry horns that sounded after them. The road was shadowed by tall trees on both sides. Eren was a little behind, but as soon as he saw the small sign with an arrow pointing off to a side road down to the lake, he knew he had to give it his all. He could see, feel, almost smell the finish line. He sped up, Levi did the same.

This time he won.

Eren won.

He was able to pass Levi as they made their way around a car. He pushed meters between them and threw his fist in the air, a shriek of happiness as he passed the sign. He had too much speed to stop right there and with the car coming up behind them, Eren turned in on the side road down to the lake. A quick glance in the side mirror told him Levi was following. They slowed down, but didn't stop completely until they were out of the wooded area and reached a clearing with a clear view of a large, green and blue lake. They saw a parking area filled with cars and children and adults alike, all playing by the water.

Eren lead them onto a dirt road leading away from the populated, inland beach. He drove slowly, as not to hit any branches or pumps that could throw him off his bike. Tall trees hovered over them to their left, and the lake sparkling under the sun to their right and continued till they reached a second clearing. This one was smaller, vacant. No benches, no sand, no people. Just an confound opening in the trees, allowing grass to grow. There was evidence of a bonfire. Teenagers would sometimes gather there in the evening to drink and smoke without the knowledge of their parents, which is how Eren knew about it's existence. He'd say he had a lot of memories of the place from spending time there in his teen years, but truthfully, he didn't remember too much of those night, but maybe that was for the best.

They parked their bikes next to the other and took off their helmets at the same time. Caught up by the heat of the race, Eren had not noticed the heat of the day, but once his helmet was off he could feel sweat running down his face and his hair was damp and stuck to his forehead. Levi looked the same as Eren felt.

"Gross! I need a shower." Was the first thing Levi said since they had stopped. He ran his fingers through his hair, pushing it all back. They both peeled off their jackets and Eren found himself regretting wearing jeans for protection when he hadn't even been close to crashing.

"There's water right there." Eren pointed out. Closer to the lake the grass ended and was replaced with solid rock ground raised less than a meter above the water. The water underneath was deep and Eren had jumped from the rock many times before. It had never looked more tempting to jump in to cool down. The shadow from the trees did little to make up for the fact that no wind graced them where they stood.

"I'm not jumping in there." Levi responded sternly, placing his jacket on his bike, promptly walking over to the edge and looked down at the water. It looked green, reflecting the trees. The smell of nature filled Eren's nose and he breathed it in with a couple of deep breaths and smiled wildly as he did. He had won.

"I won." He had to say it out loud. He just had to, for his own gratification. He walked up to Levi and heard him hum in agreement. It was less than satisfactory, but he couldn't really ask for more. Eren looked at the water, then up at Levi, who still had his eyes set on the lake when he said "I guess I owe you drinks this time then."

"Sure you don't want to swim?" The next few seconds happened so fast, so unexpectedly, Eren barely registered what happened. Levi lifted his gaze and turned on his heel to go back to the bikes. When Eren moved to do the same, he misplaced his heel too close to the edge and lost balance when he tried to spin around. He felt himself falling backwards and saw Levi turn again and look at him with big eyes. Levi tried to grab a hold of him, his fist tangled in Eren's shirt, but it was too late to save him from the inevitable. Instead, Levi ended up being pulled down with him.

They hit the water with a loud splash and cold water covered them. Before he reached the surface Eren cursed himself for having been so careless. He must've looked like an idiot. He felt like one, but it was also rather funny. He pulled himself to the surface and faced Levi. Not seven seals would have been able to hold back his laughter. The poor soldier looked so distort, almost concerned. Wide eyes, wild, wet hair hanging down in his face.

"What the hell?" Levi narrowed his eyes once again. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah," Eren replied and wiped water from his forehead and pushed his hair back. "I'm so sorry, dude. Are you ok?" They were both floating in the water, though Eren most likely could reach the bottom if he stretched his legs out. He was still laughing soundlessly in between his breaths.

"Yeah." Levi answered and cracked a smile of his own, probably from how ridiculous the situation was, or how ridiculous Eren looked. "You idiot." Levi raised his arm and pushed Eren's head under water again. He let go right away and Eren continued to laugh when he once again resurfaced. Levi's smile stayed for a while this time and Eren couldn't help but note down how peaceful and good he looked when he did. The water hadn't helped him cool down half as much as he could've hoped.

10 minutes later they had gotten out of the water and sat in the grass, only wearing their underwear. They were both guys after all. They had put their clothes and shoes in the sun to let them dry before they got back on their bikes and drove back to the city. Luckily neither of them had their phones on them when they fell, so they were safe. With his legs in the sun, Eren made sure his head remained in the shadow of a tree. He'd take anything that would help his head calm down, even it caused him a weird tan later on. Levi was in the same position right next to him. Eren had so far counted 4 tattoos on his body, and he had a couple of obvious scars on his chest. He wanted to badly to ask how they got there, but didn't want to give away how closely he had already looked the short man over. He tried not to stare, but when someone have abs like Levi's, it's hard not to.

"So you're a soldier?" Eren asked to start up a conversation. In the background they could hear bird chirping and the distant voices of people playing at the main beach.

"How did you know?" Levi looked over at him. He was leaning back, resting on his arms.

"I have a friend in the military. He told me." Eren explained, leaving Connie's name out of it. "He also told me about some rumor about you killing 20 men." Eren added, stupidly, regretting it the second the words left his mouth. When Levi didn't respond right away Eren looked over at him, locking eyes. Eren could tell Levi was trying to read him, judge his expression.

"I'm a soldier. I follow orders. That is what I do." He talked slowly, like he was carefully choosing his words to neither confirm and deny the rumor. For the first time Levi looked visibly uncomfortable in his presence. Eren figured he had stepped over an invisible line mentioning something as serious as war and Levi's part in it.

"That's brutal." Eren said casually as if they were discussing the horrid weather. He didn't want to make it awkward, though he would've liked to hear more about what had taken place.

"Don't look so scared. I was just joking about killing you." Levi said. Eren cocked his head to the side. He wasn't aware that he had looked scared at all. Is that how Levi read him?

"I'm not scared." It was the truth. With the exception of their first meeting, Eren had never felt intimidated or scared by Levi, even if his looks said he should have. He felt strangely relaxed.

"I guess not." Levi said, slowly looking back at the lake. "Since you did pester about racing again even after knowing."

"Well, I'm a racer." Eren mimicked Levi's serious voice from earlier. "It's what I do."

"Street racing?" Levi questioned and raised an eyebrow at him, like he didn't quite believe it.

"No, motorcycle racing. I'm a professional racer."

"Seriously?" It sounded almost cocky. "And I still beat you?" The words made Eren groan and cover his head like it was painful to hear.

"I won too!" He defended himself, raising a ringer at Levi, who seemed amused by Eren's annoyed outburst.

"So now we're even." Levi pointed out.

"We'll have to settle it sometime." It was true. Eren hadn't won just yet. Levi 1 - Eren 1. Eren had just leveled them. A draw? He wasn't sure how pleased he was with that result.

"I guess we'll have to." Levi hummed, a butterfly flying in front of them had caught his attention. "I think I'd like that."


	6. Round Six: The Soldier

A made up beat, tapping his pen at the desk, staring blankly at the computer screen. Reports, the torn in his side. Not just his side. A torn stuck in the palm of his life, impossible to remove. Levi would, admittedly, do almost anything to get out of writing reports. Especially field reports. He could understand the necessity of writing reports from the battlefield, but this was a simple field exercise. Who really cared what had happened? He sure didn't. His commander, however, demanded the report be written and filed. And his commander would read it, maybe. Some of his reports contained foul language, informal grammar and words one should not say on TV, and his commanding officer would call him up and tell him not to do that. You can yell ‘fuck’ at the cadets all you want, but you're not allowed to call them dickheads in your reports it turns out.

The night had dragged on. It was close to 2 in the morning and he was likely the only soldier left on that floor. The only other people in the building would be the standing and sleeping guards. Levi should be sleeping, but he couldn't sleep. It was rare for him to get tired until the early morning hours and this night was no exception. The light in the room was flickering, fading out slowly. Most of the light came from the screen and streetlights outside. The room smelled clean, he had made sure of that. It was only a temporary office and the last person who had used it had left it in a poor state and with a lingering smell of cigarettes. A brutal violation of the security code. Smoking is never to take place inside the building, but they must not have cared. Levi should've reported it in, but hadn't. He rarely did. Reports were a hassle, even if it was just 10 words on a piece of paper.

His eyes drifted across the room, searching for distraction. The tea on his desk had long since turned cold. He ought to make more. Or maybe he could raid the fridge in the miniature kitchen next door and see if a careless cadet had forgotten a beer (another violation). At last his eyes fell upon his helmet, resting in an empty chair by the door and his mind drifted off to the hills. The house on top of the hill, where he lived. The boy, no. Man with tan skin and silky, brown hair. He reminded him of the colors blue and green, like seaweed in blue water. A loud mouth, smooth laughter, big smile and eyes so full of raw emotion they were like a book. Levi had never been an avid reader, but if books were like that, he would surely not mind reading it. If reading reports were anything like that, he wouldn't mind writing them. But reports were boring, no emotion, just boring, plain facts.

It was almost instinctively, on a whim, that Levi grabbed his phone and opened his text-messages. Eren surely wouldn't be awake at this hour, but on the off-chance that he were, Levi was desperate for a distraction, even if it was just a few texts back and forth. He didn't call, not wanting to wake him. Levi's friends back home were used to his insomniac mind; a few shared his atypical sleeping pattern. Levi didn't mind being alone. He welcomed solitude in this purity and enjoyed the silence, but tonight was not the night for it. The memory of their time by the lake filled him with warmth and made the white walls around him feel 10 times colder. He didn't mind solitude, but Levi had never liked the cold. So he sent a quick text before he could overthink it.

**Levi [01:54]:** Are you awake?

Levi's temporary office was empty, compared to the other offices on the second floor. Most of them contained pictures and honors of the walls, plants, they were personalized and decorated. Levi’s walls were all empty, with the exception of a generic picture of a flower hanging by the door. He’d blame it on it only being temporary, but truth be told, even if it wasn’t, his walls would still be white with no pictures.

His phone vibrated in his hands.

**Eren [01:56]:** Netflix just added a new season of House of Cards, dude. I can’t stop!  
**Eren [01:56]:** Why are you up so late?  
**Levi [01:58]:** Have to write a long ass report. It’s taking longer than expected.

**Eren [01:59]:** Sounds like school all over again…  
**Eren [02:04]:** Want company?

He did.

 

**Eren [02:24]:** I’m outside

From the window in his office Levi could look outside and see Eren standing on the pavement next to his bike. He hurried downstairs, woke up the guard on duty (he should report him too, for sleeping at work) and got him to open the main gates. The guard obliged without question (sloppy work, should be reported).

Eren was dressed in a simple shirt and jeans and carrying a backpack. Levi met him outside and showed him inside. Quickly passing the guard who was already falling back asleep. Down the entrance hall, through a corridor and to the stairs. Eren didn’t say much, but looked around himself like he had never seen walls before. Walking back upstairs and to L’s office, the brunette looked like a little kid, his eyes waving around every little detail as they passed doors with scribbles on them, century old pictures and misplaced boxes. He looked skittish; like he was worried he wasn’t allowed to be there, which he wasn’t. Maybe Levi should report himself as well, for bringing a stranger into the protected building.

“I’ve always wanted to go inside.” Eren said in a whisper.

“It’s just like a regular office building. This isn’t M16.” Levi rolled his eyes as he opened the door to his office. Eren followed him inside and Levi closed the door behind them. Eren stood still in the middle of the dimly lit room and looked around, unsure what to do with himself.

“Are you sure?” Eren said with a bright smile. “You look kinda like a double 0 agent.” Levi found himself smiling, unsure whether to take it as a compliment or not.

“I wish, but no.” Levi’s office had been used as a storage room the days it had been without a name on the door. Most of what had been there had since then been moved, but it still contained several unused office chairs and a couple of cardboard boxes, orderly placed in the corner by the window.

“So if I look through the files I won’t find top secret missions to kill the leader of some foreign country?” Eren eased up and placed his backpack in an empty chair. Levi seated himself by his desk once again, but kept his eyes on Eren.

“No top secret missions. Just boring field reports.”

“Is that what you’re writing now?” Eren asked and moved past the desk and over to the window. He looked outside, the moonlight hitting his face. Levi turned around in his chair and kept watching him. His skin looked paler in the moonlight, showing traces of acne scars on his chin he hadn’t noticed before, and lines under his eyes, and how abnormally long his eyelashes were.

“Top secret field reports, yes.”

“Can I read it?” Eren turned around and met his gaze for the first time since he had arrived, being too preoccupied with looking for secret doors earlier. Because he knew what was written (or what should’ve been written), Levi couldn’t phantom why anyone would want to read it, but Eren looked dead serious with his request.

“You can’t.” Levi answered bluntly. At beat with Eren’s disappointed look he added. “You can’t read it, because I haven’t written anything yet.” He turned his laptop so the screen faced Eren and showed a blank Word document, the view of Levi’s vision the last two hours.

“Nothing at all?” Eren asked and Levi shook his head, only partly ashamed of this new level of procrastination, which was slightly unusual of him. He would usually just slap a few words onto the document, half-ass it, sometimes make up or leave out happenings he was sure no one would notice, but get it done as soon as possible. “What have you been doing all night then?” Eren asked. Levi could only shrug in response. He honestly wasn’t sure himself what he had been doing most of the time, and the last thing he wanted to do was admit to having spent more than an acceptable amount of time thinking about Eren. Every time he turned around and caught a glimpse of his keys, helmet or biker gloves, it instantly reminded him of the young man.

“It’s just a bitch to write it all down.” Levi said, like that would explain anything.

“Ok, I have an idea.” Eren fetched an empty office chair and rolled it over to the desk, at the opposite end of where Levi was seated. Eren then grabbed Levi’s laptop and placed it in front of him. “You tell me everything that happened on the excursion and I’ll write it down.”

They stared at each other in silence for a moment. Levi was amused by how Eren was just waiting for him to begin to talk, without even waiting for his approval of this new approach. Levi could count 3 rules at the top of his head that they would be breaking by doing it Eren’s way. One of them being that Levi should refrain from talking about the field excursion in great details with any outsiders. Another one was telling an outsider where it took place.

“Alright, but first…” Levi grabbed the cup with cold tea and stood up. “I need more tea. Want some?”

It took longer to write the report than it normally should’ve. Eren would interrupt and ask questions, sometimes laugh at Levi’s personal comments about cadets, too hard to continue writing. They spent two hours in his office, drinking tea, talking. According to Eren it was a win-win situation. Eren got to learn more about the job of being a soldier and Levi got his report written, without having to write down a single word. It was probably the first time Levi had ever enjoyed making a report.  He also made Eren promise not to discuss it with anyone else. Not that it would’ve been a big deal, it wasn’t anything you couldn’t find with a few simple google searches, but Levi still felt like he wanted to be on the safe side. He didn’t know Eren well enough to trust his blindly, but he certainly looked very serious when he promised he’d protect the information, even if it should cost him his life.

**Author's Note:**

> Share your thoughts?


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